Burrall Associates Newsletter

Category: Pathfinder Newsletter

I’ve always wondered why some salespeople unintentionally, or intentionally choose to ignore or dismiss the receptionist, entry guard, administrative assistant, or whatever the current terminology is for those charged with monitoring the flow of traffic to those we want to meet. It’s just stupid. On just a human level it’s rude. I can hear some… Read more »

Too many salespeople avoid having to say they’re sorry. They fail to see it as an opportunity to “turn lemons into lemonade”. Your customer service manager just came into your office with hair on fire to tell you that a customer’s angry. It could be a pricing issue, a delayed shipment, a quality problem or… Read more »

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked to attend networking events. Almost every conference I attend is preceded by “registration and networking”. By and large I have avoided these sessions. Recently, I read an HBR.org article by Derek Coburn titled Don’t Waste Your Time on Networking Events that prompted me to reflect;… Read more »

Who cares about your Experience and Qualifications? I read and listen to hundreds sales presentations each year. I am continually surprised at how ineffective salespeople are at differentiating themselves and their company from the rest of the herd. My favorite is some variation of “we’ve been in business for 25 years.” Does anyone really care?… Read more »

It’s no surprise that the speed of business has accelerated dramatically in the past decade. Our customers have more resources at their fingertips than ever before. What used to take an hour of research in hard copy directories now takes mere seconds online. Not only do they know more about what they need/want to buy,… Read more »

Recently, we have seen more and more sales organizations employ a practice formerly used only in training new sales reps. Joint sales calls have become more of an ongoing practice and not just part of training for the rookies. Sometimes referred to as “call shadowing” making a joint call with another sale rep provides the… Read more »

I’ve been at this sales game for many years, and I have to confess I listen to sales presentations long after most people have hung up or walked away. I know at some point I’m going to learn something worth remembering or find a topic for this newsletter. Not long ago I sat through a… Read more »

Historically, we have considered two ways to increase sales: add more salespeople, or improve the effectiveness of those we have. Equally important is spending time on the right stuff. We often hear “my sales team is not spending enough time pursuing new prospects.” Salespeople, like most of us, tend to take the path of least… Read more »

I just can’t figure out why so many salespeople have a hard time getting to NO. We see well-meaning sales pros spend inordinate amounts of time and energy avoiding what should be obvious; that prospect is not going to buy what you are selling. Period, get over it! One thing that stands out with top… Read more »

First and foremost; negotiating is a necessity in life (not just business life; all life). Learn how to negotiate or think about becoming a hermit. Set an anchor. Adam D. Galinsky, in a Harvard Business Review article, talks about being first to set an anchor in a negotiation. Almost always both parties have an understanding… Read more »